Leadership Council Minutes: January 2011

Northaven United Methodist Church
Leadership Council Meeting- Room 237/239
January 25, 2011

Those Present: Eric Folkerth, Betty Boyer, Mindy Dague, Chris Reed, Travis Jordan, Jim McBride, Shirley Cooper, Marlene Haskell, Terry Lowery, Dotti Timmins, Tom Timmins, Kate Anderson, Kathy Delsanter, Mary Clair Lowrance, and Dick Weaver

Betty Boyer called the meeting to order at 7 p.m.

Open Meditation

Leadership Chairperson's Remarks:

The next Leadership Council & Program Council retreat is being tentatively scheduled for June. There has been discussion of posting the minutes of the Leadership Council on the Northaven’s church website. A large amount of time will be spent at the next meeting discussing our 2011 budget so committee chairs were asked to give only brief reports next time.

Program Council:
Communications – The redesign of our website should be up and running by the end of February. Exploring options for a church directory which would include new members.  Looking at locations for permanent installation of video projectors and a flat-panel TV.
Art - Coordinating with Membership for a Vision Wall display.
CIS – Is having a Planning Day on Saturday, January 29. The Faith Voices series begin with 120 attendees and has programs planned through May.
Education - Youth - Mid winter retreat on the 29 and seven Youth will be attending. A Super Bowl party with families is being hosted at the Andersons on February 6.  We are discussing plans for our annual mission trips.  On February 13, our regular weekly meetings begin. 
 Finance Report: See Attached
We have a balanced budget for 2010.
*Building Loan Update: See Attached



Staff Parish Report:
The first priority is to conduct a search for the new Minster of Music. Marilane Jones is the designated chair of the search committee. The second priority is working on offering additional hours to Tricia Dudley since she will be assisting with increasing Communication type duties at the church. Additional priorities will be established among the committee at their next meeting.

Stewardship Report: See Attached

Celebration Garden/Covenant Fund Report: See Attached
The Permanent Endowment Fund Investment Policy and the Permanent Endowment Fund Spending Policy were distributed and everyone was asked to read and review before it is voted on next month at the Leadership Council.

Newsletter Report:
Tricia Dudley is about ready to take on the layout of the newsletter. There are about 20 people working on the newsletter now. Travis Jordan plans on publishing the newsletter deadline dates soon.

Trustees Report: See Attached
Frank Effland and Mitch Lee have been added to the Trustees. There is an active call for female committee members and the disciplinary actually recommends for no less than 3 women on the committee and we currently have none. The concrete rocks under the trees are still an issue and Dick Weaver will look into it. Someone approached Dick about a community garden in the back of the church, Dick suggested visiting other churches first before going forward with this but it is still being discussed.

Co-op Representative Report: No Report

Staff Reports-

Co-op: See Attached

Worship and the Arts:
Advent went well and there were over 500 people in attendance on Christmas Eve.
Attendance can become larger than Easter and in 2010 it did. The planning team for lent is in progress. The Worship team is planning by the season. There will be an upcoming 4 week series on The Lord's Prayer. Valinda's retired this month and Stephanie Rhoades is the interim Minister of Music. Eric believes that it is best to wait and to conclude the search for a new Minister of Music until after Easter. Stephanie Rhoades is definitely interested in the position. Lent does start late this year.


Spiritual Formation/Education:
Joe Hilbun is the new Chair for Adult Education. Lynette Hendricks is the new Chair for the Congregational Care Team. The Faith Justice series had over 120 people in attendance. New Adult Education classes are starting and all of the classes including the Wednesday class has made. The new Children's Council Chair is Kirsten Brandt-James and VBS dates will be announced soon. Many new church members are currently involved with Adult Education and there are plans in the work to create a new Adult Sunday School class.

Youth:
A Conference-wide event was attended in McKinney and the Youth sponsored a family in the Zoe Walk. The Senior High group went to Holiday in the Park at Six Flags and the annual Christmas Party was held at the church. Kate helped with coordinating Youth activities while Chris was visiting Spain. The Youth will be going to the Bridgeport Conference and Camping Center for a 3 day weekend and the theme is, God Is... A Super bowl party will be at held Kate Anderson's house. On April 10, the Youth will host a coffeehouse as a fundraiser.

Administration:
Additional Church directories will be copied from RDS. The possibility of printing photos of the members is still being discussed. We are still adding member’s birthdays so more members can appear on the monthly birthday list in the Northaven Now. The 2010 contribution records were mailed out last weekend for tax records.

Pastoral:
The Women's Retreat is going to be at the beginning of April. Communication will be going out within the next week and sign-up will be available through Constant Contact.
There are still Committee openings that are trying to be filled. The Heart of Christianity has 15 participants and every Adult Education class has made except for one (Living the Questions on Sunday mornings). New members and visitors are signing up and are interested in what Northaven has to offer.

Closing Prayer